Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Procrastination and Motivation

Well hello there everyone!

So, first off is some apologies for not posting in a long time. I've been super busy with my last year of undergraduate school. It has been crazy! But come summer time I will be blogging more! Yippee! On to my main subject :]

(Disclaimer: I am most definitely not a professional counselor or life coach. The following is just my experiences and advice and strategies that worked for me.)

Today I really want to talk about something that has been on my mind lately and that is procrastination and motivation. Naturally as a college student I am a major procrastinator! It is so easy to push things off until the last minute and to be honest I work best under pressure. Lately though I have noticed that it has been detrimental to my mental health and my grades (not to horrible though!). A week ago I got sick two weeks in a row and I feel I haven't been putting enough effort in my work. I always make goals and promise that I will get my work done early but that NEVER (maybe rarely) happens! I struggle with 'senioritis' and my struggling YouTube addiction (which I know I will never give up!). But today I had a major turn around while working on an assignment that was due earlier today. I had decided to get my butt in gear and work hard to get everything done, especially since finals week is two weeks away!

Being on task and motivated is hard but anyone can make an effort to being more efficient in school, work, etc. One thing that I do is make lists. I have a lot of lists. Sticky notes (big and small), pieces of paper stuck one my wall, big (or small) white boards, and last of all a planner. I live by planning out my work time, my classes, working out, meetings, and sometimes even planning out time to go to the library. Making a plan can you be more organized and will hold you accountable to do those things. I highly recommend writing down deadlines for projects in a planner, a calendar, or even the Google calendar if you have a Google account.

As for motivation, it is more of a self change. Every time you need to do something but you feel a lack of motivation go ahead and give yourself a pep talk! Tell yourself that you can do it! Being positive can be an improvement by itself. Also, if you find it extra challenging to be motivated maybe you can sit down and figure out why you may lack motivation. Personally, I felt a lack of confidence. To help myself gain more confidence I reminded myself of all my accomplishments and my capabilities. Gaining motivation is all about being positive about life and yourself. This is the most challenging part of life and it takes time so don't be discouraged!

I hope everyone has a great day/night/weekend!

Until next time!
emmalily93 xx